More Out of Life
by Baby Kitty
Summary: Why were Bulk and Skull so afraid of Tommy at the beginning of 'Forever Red? [complete]


Disclaimer – No I still don't own their immortal souls. I'm worken on it okay, takes time ya know.

Author's Notes – Right so decided it'd been a while since I watched that episode 'Forever Red' so sat down and first thing I notice is the famous bizarre hotel scene, in which Bulk and Skull nervously interrupt Tommy who is reading the paper with a phone call. Who's scared of Tommy? So here's my answer to why they were…well sorta.

Summary – Why were Bulk and Skull so afraid of Tommy at the beginning of Forever Red?

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More Out of Life

Tommy

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I don't like to think of myself as some self-important jerk, I don't like others to see me that way either. I've worked hard all my life to keep as far away from that image as humanly possible. So tell me how I ended up here? 

Gazing past the paper held in front of me, I sweep the pool for anything of interest. I'm supposed to be reviewing the stock pages. I need to know if we're loosing money or gaining. I have to be able to inform Mercer if a rival company is creeping up on him. I have to be reliable, diligent, and dependable… I have to find a new job.

Watching through my shades as two young girls, no more then seven or eight years old at most, begin chasing each other around the chairs near me, I can't hold back a smile. Cute. I want kids, I don't know who I'll have them with, but I know it won't be one of those company bimbos that's always hanging around. I don't know why Mercer even keeps them on the payroll…well alright so I do, but I like to play ignorant to such unseemly matters. 

"Tag you're it!" Hitting her little friend on the back, the hunter is now the prey, and currently coming my way. Sliding behind my chair, she doesn't have but a minute to linger there before a sharp yell comes at her.

"Becka you get away from there right this second! What did I tell you about bothering people?" Standing from her chair a few feet away the round woman reminds me vaguely of someone from work. She might be one of the higher ups, quiet a few do live in this development seeing as how it's so close to the main office and owned by the boss. After all that's why I'm here, well and Mercer only makes me pay half the actual rent and no utilities on my apartment. It's good to be best friends with the guy in charge I guess. 

Watching the child slink away to go play in the pool I'm tempted to go do the same. He doesn't have to know, right? No one is going to tell him I took a small swim instead of scanning the paper like he asked, will they? Oh who am I kidding, they'll all tell on me. Great deal, practically no rent for a brand new two bedroom apartment in exchange for being labeled the boss's pet and thus hated and feared by ninety percent of the employees. And you know it's not even fair. Have I ever treated any of them badly? Have I ever given them a reason not to like me or trust me? Have I ever done anything but be nice and try to get Merc to be nicer to them? No. Never. So where do they get off talking about me like I'm some kept spoiled brat who's sleeping with the boss? Which I'm not!

"I don't see how you can work out here." Crud.

Lifting my head back so I can look at the man, I wish he'd stayed at the office. I know I used to love surprise visits, but lately they just seem to make me all the more unpopular around here. "I wanted to get some fresh air."

"It's noisy and crowed though. Overrun with children." Looking at said children with mild distaste, he pulls up a chair next to my own, seeming extremely out of place in his crisp suit and tie in the laid back environment. "How can you possibly get any work done?"

"I work better with distraction. Besides I was thinking of maybe taking a swim in a few minutes." Letting the paper rest on my lap I make a point not to sound whiney, if there's anything he loathes more then kids it's an adult behaving like one.

Smiling softly, a smile I'm starting to believe he only uses with me, he casually retrieves the paper. "I forget sometimes that you're not one of my executives. Here I have you working on a Saturday after I promised you some time to yourself." It's hardly work, but that's true he did promise me some time to just relax after working three weeks straight on our 'special projects'. 

"It's fine." It's not like I really have anywhere to go. All I had planned for the weekend was reading a little and maybe going for a swim.

"It's not. I forget how young you are, you're barely twenty three, you should be out having fun, associating with people your own age. Well, once in a while. You don't have any summer classes and our projects can be put on hold for a day or two, I told you there's not immediate rush with them. Why don't you go visit some friends this weekend?" Because I don't have any? Well that's not true, it's just I don't have any close by, what with Jason in New York, Kat touring with her dance company, Adam and Aisha keeping their little ones under control in Utah. I miss them.

Heaving a sigh, I mentally run down my list of excuses. I don't have classes, but I want to get ahead on my reading for next semester. I know there's no rush, but you said the projects are expensive and important and the sooner they're done the better for Mercer Industries. It's too hot to go driving off to visit people in the ninety degree California heat. "I'd rather stay in this weekend. Maybe watch some TV, go for a swim, read a good book."

"This from a boy who used to drive stock cars and skydive." This from a boy who was in not one, but two stock car crashes and gets depressed flying since he can't do it anymore in his collecting dust Falcon Zord. 

"Yes, well I grew up. I'm in college now and working for you, there's just no time to go challenging death anymore." Please just let it go Merc, I'm really not in the mood. 

Blue eyes cutting into me, he's reading me and I know it. Suppose it's a good thing he did catch me outside than, because I know the shades help me hide my sullen mood fairly easily. "I'm not suggesting you go street racing, I just think…I don't want to see you end up like me." 

"What?" 

Sighing and pulling his chair a bit closer, he lowers his head enough where I'm forced to focus souly on him. "I don't want you to end up thirty years old and alone. You're young, you have this spark and while I appreciate you taking your job so seriously and being such a good employee and friend I don't want you to end up like I did. It's only because I consider you a friend that I'm telling you this. I've seen you get more like me the longer you're around me and normally while that is exactly what I like to see from my employees it's not what I want to see from you. I want you to be happy and continue to be an individual, not a number watching, shrewd business tycoon. That's not you. If it was I don't think we would have become friends back on the dig sites." 

Oh yeah, I guess I did make things interesting back then. To be honest though, I think he want to kick me off the team before actually starting to find my inpatients and accident prone self amusing. Who knew such a stern and obsessive compulsive guy would end up being friends with someone like me. "I know. I just, I want to do a good job and besides you're not alone. We're friends, right?" 

Getting that look that says 'why must you make things so difficult', I think it's safe to say that despite our friendship I still try his patience. "Yes, which is exactly why I'm telling you to go see some other friends and act your age. Be immature, do something you haven't done in a while. Then when you come back on Monday or Tuesday you can go back to helping me and being an adult, but for now go have some fun."

Forcing a smile, I take the paper back. "I'll consider it."

Sighing and knowing that's really all he's going to get from me, he finally relents. "You're even starting to talk like me." Standing and straightening, his jacket he gives me a parting smile. "Sometimes I just don't know what to do with you."

"That makes two of us." Looking back at the stock page and purposely ignoring his parting head shake I don't know what to make of him sometimes. You'd think a man like that, someone who owns half the state would be happy I'm trying to be responsible and over achieving, instead he complains that it's stifling my unique creativity. Go figure.

"Do you really think you outta bug him?" Speaking for unique…glancing at Bulk and Skull as they begin arguing over the phone it'd seem, I still can't believe he let me hire them here. I mean I knew they needed work, and it's not like they're bad guys, but I was a little surprised Merc didn't even put up a tad of resistance when I asked him.

"It sounds important." Walking closer to me now, I'm guessing the call is for me. See even they're acting like I'm something to be feared. I got them the jobs for crying out loud. Why on earth would I get them fired? Maybe Merc is right, maybe I do need to get out and have some fun. "Excuse me sir, you have a phone call."

Holding back on the urge to sigh and tell them for the five hundredth time not to call me sir, I simply hold out my hand for the cordless. It's not worth the trouble. "Hello?"

"_Tommy, it's Andros_." He's back from the recon mission. That can only mean one thing. "_It's time_." Well I suppose if I can't spend a weekend having fun with friends, I can at least spend it fighting evil with allies, and really in the grand scheme of things I suppose that's just as good. 

"I'm on my way." 

The End


End file.
